Promoting Environmental Health & Literacy

An open-ended informal consultations session was held today at the United Nations Headquarters to consider the implementation of the Programme of Action (PoA) to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects. This meeting focussed on compiling a draft based on the recommendations by the member states in preparation for the upcoming Fifth Biennial Meeting of states from 16th to 20th June 2014.

In their recommendations, the speakers underscored the nature of present day conflicts as being mostly fought with small arms and therefore, stressed upon the importance of combating this illicit trade. Small arms have become major instruments of tactical and strategic use to terrorists in recent years, thereby, calling for an immediate and a proactive action by the international community.

The delegations of Member states endeavored to produce a collective document at the Fifth Biennial Meeting of states to reflect a collective consensus. The delegation of Cuba recommended that each state establish their own rules, standards, and indicators, conforming to and in consistency with their national priorities, which have to be agreed upon collectively.

Many delegations spotlighted the key role of the civil society in catalyzing international cooperation. Non-governmental organizations can contribute to this process by providing expertise and raising awareness about the devastating consequences of the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons.

The delegation of Mexico proposed to include targeted control measures for illicit brokering, special attention to countries affected by endemic violence and the promotion of synergies between PoA and other instruments, such as the Firearms Protocol and the ATT. The idea of promoting synergies between different instruments will be a stepping-stone towards providing a mutual reinforcement for achieving a control at global level. The cooperation and consensus, hence achieved, would foster a culture of peace, which is the ultimate objective of preventing, combating and eradicating illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.